Wanted to Borrow: Garmin 396/496

JordanGrant · #1 01-02-2007, 07:58 AM

Tomorrow (Wednesday, 3 Jan), I get to take part in the great honor of executing President Ford's 21-gun salute at his state funeral. The "guns" are a 21-ship flyby of the world's finest fighter, the F-15E Strike Eagle (I'm flying as an air spare). All of our wing's brass will be involved, so I thought it might be a great opportunity for pushing an idea I've had for a while. I want the wing to purchase some Garmin 396s or 496s for use in cross-country flights. The Strike Eagle has some amazing hardware for putting steel on targets, but we have very little of the safety and convenience information that a modern civil aircraft has - most notably WEATHER info. As a result, we have in the past broken parts of the airplane (at very great expense to repair) by flying into weather that is inappropriate for some of the more sensitive gear (i.e. heavy rain/hail).
So, to make a short request very long, my idea is to beg/borrow/steal a Garmin with weather capability to show to my bosses during the flyby. Most of them, being unfamiliar with general aviation, do not even know that a device like the 396/496 even exists. This is happening tomorrow, of course, so I need to find someone close to North Carolina that might be willing to loan out their expensive Garmin. If you are interested, please PM me, e-mail at gra9933@bellsouth.net, jordan.grant@seymourjohnson.af.mil, or call 919-739-9933. If you're within a reasonable distance, I can go get it in my RV-6. If you want to come here, I can offer a tour of our squadron and the F-15E in return for your help.

Thanks a lot and happy flying!!

N98HK · #2 01-02-2007, 09:20 AM

"The world's greatest fighter".....? There is only one true Eagle! I didn't know you were at Seymour now. I'm down at Tyndall. I finally finished my -7 last year. Are you flying down to FL anytime this year? Sorry, I don't have a 396, otherwise I'd fly it up there for you. See you soon.

Moon

JordanGrant · #3 01-02-2007, 10:22 AM

Moon, great to hear from you! What's sad is that I only finished the -6 last year myself, and I had a 4-year head start... Its been flying since last January, I have 176 hours on it.
Actually, I'm going to AOC school at Hurlburt in March for 4 weeks - leaving to do a 1-year in the CAOC at Osan shortly after that. I plan to bring the RV down. Holly is going to Maintenance Officer school back at Wichita Falls during the same time, so I get to have the airplane until I leave for Korea. I'm also planning on doing Sun N Fun this year, so I'll be back in Florida for that. We should be able to go flying in March, though - I'll look you up when I get there.

Ironflight · #4 01-02-2007, 06:11 PM

I wish I was closer to you Jordan - you could have mine for such a worthy cause! Working for a government agency myself, I know how the "not-invented-here" syndrome can prevent progress.....hope you find one!

Paul

cytoxin · #5 01-02-2007, 06:50 PM

Jordan, is this some kind of humor,would there be any benefit at all?
can the 396-496 even keep up with such a plane. i thought these were "state of the art, all weather " capable a/c.

why would they need this . ]

"The navigation pod contains terrain-following radar which allows the pilot to safely fly at a very low altitude following cues displayed on a heads up display. This system also can be coupled to the aircraft's autopilot to provide "hands off" terrain-following capability."
31.1 million in 98

and they dont have the capability to check weather? for that price it should be able to part the red sea

Paul do you loan yours to the shuttle crew

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/f-15-eagle7.jpg

N98HK · #6 01-02-2007, 08:19 PM

The eagle (F-15E or F-15C) does not have a dedicated system for checking weather. The APG-63 and APG-70 radar can be put into a weather mode, but a god's eye view of the weather (like the 396), rather than trying to look through it and pick your way around cells is much better and more accurate. The multi million dollar satelite constellation is designed to monitor weather, not blow stuff up! A low level navigation pod is great, but it doesn't consider weather. It would gladly fly you through a thunderstorm. I have taken a hand held GPS flying before (they're actually in our survival vests) and they keep up just fine. The Eagle is an all weather fighter, but nothing that flies should go into a thunderstorm. 31 million buys you air superiority and the ability to put a bomb down a chimney anywhere in the world. I'll gladly send a missile into a thunderstorm, but not my wingman!
Cool picture of the F-15C. In the flyby tomorrow, Jordan will be flying the F-15E (2-seat, conformal fuel tanks, more hard points for carrying bombs, etc...)

Anyhoo, I ramble.

Jordan, I hope all goes well tomorrow - very cool oportunity! Remember to say your prayers "Dear god, please don't let me f*$% this up!"

I'll see you during SnF. John Hooker and JJ will be coming out from TX, and we'll be fly over from here in Panama City. Maybe you can drop in and we'll make it a 4-ship. Should be a piece of cake after a (YGTBSM) 21 ship formation!

Moon